ATHENS – As Greece is still dealing with the wildfires and the aftermath of a blaze that reached Athens, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reportedly will use the Sept. 7-15 Thessaloniki International Fair to announce aid for families.

There won’t be the usual handouts, said Proto Thema in a report on what he’s said to be considering as the nucleus of his talk, the fair traditionally used as a kind of State of the Country address and to boast about political achievements.

While the economy has rebounded from a 2010-18 economic and austerity crisis, high supermarket prices are still a problem for the ruling New Democracy and the government will have to fork over more subsidies for wildfires compensation.

Mitsotakis will be meeting with his ministers to discuss policies and the 2025 budget that will also include pension increases although there’s no plans to lower a Value Added Tax (VAT) on some foods that’s as high as 24 percent.

He also is scheduled to go to Thessaloniki on Aug. 27 to meet with business executives and the National Strategy for Regional Development and the digital platform for Regional Development Plans will be presented at the city’s Concert Hall.

Bonuses of 2,000 euros ($2207) for families to have children and offset the country’s declining population haven’t worked to a large degree as higher prices and the cost of raising children is deterring many couples.

The report said the government is looking at incentives for families, with an emphasis on children, such as effectively equating three-child families with large families, tax relief for the second and third child, and substantial increases in child benefits, with many eligible excluded because of rising incomes.

The government is also said to be looking at big reforms in welfare benefits which now provide 200 euros ($200.69) monthly for those out of work or destitute but no details were given about the plan.

The government also is reportedly trying to ensure that unemployment benefits go to those out of work in the long term and not seasonal workers, such as in tourism, who don’t work in the winter but collect benefits.